Help broody pullet

[Rocky09]

Hi all i hav a pullet sitting on 6 eggs since saturday in one of my nesting boxes which is 2 feet of the ground should i move her now or wait til the chicks hatch and then move them to a lower nest

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've seen broody hens get their chicks out of a 10' high hay loft. She said jump and they did, then bounced up and ran to her. I don't advocate putting them up that high on purpose but Mother Nature has it under control. I've had a lot of broody hens hatch in nests 3' or 4' off the coop floor and gt their chicks down with no help from me.

What does your nest look like? Baby chicks often like to climb up on Mama's back so they can look around. I once had a hen hatch in a 7-1/2" x 11-1/2" cat litter bucket. She was so close to the edge that some chicks missed the nest when they fell off. That nest was close to 4' off the coop floor. Four different times I picked chicks up off of the coop floor and tossed them back in with Mama. Although they fell 4' they were not hurt. I did retire that nest after the hatch was over.

Unless your hen is sitting right on the edge of that nest I would not be concerned.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Hi all i hav a pullet sitting on 6 eggs since saturday in one of my nesting boxes which is 2 feet of the ground should i move her now or wait til the chicks hatch and then move them to a lower nest

I'm thinking there is a chance that your hen will return to her favorite nest.

 

[Rocky09]

I'm thinking there is a chance that your hen will return to her favorite nest.

Ok so i should leave her alone and move them when they hatch

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Ok so i should leave her alone and move them when they hatch

If at all possible, show a photo of the nesting box.
What was the box designed to do? Be multi purpose- breakfast eggs or hatch-ling production- or both. I let some of my broody girls sit on eggs in my breakfast house from time to time. They are rectangle milk crates high off the ground. But I remove the chicks when they hatch to the safety of an indoor brooder. I have lapsed in retrieval a couple of times and the boxes were so small that a couple chicks became trampled.

 

[Rocky09]

I've seen broody hens get their chicks out of a 10' high hay loft. She said jump and they did, then bounced up and ran to her. I don't advocate putting them up that high on purpose but Mother Nature has it under control. I've had a lot of broody hens hatch in nests 3' or 4' off the coop floor and gt their chicks down with no help from me.

What does your nest look like? Baby chicks often like to climb up on Mama's back so they can look around. I once had a hen hatch in a 7-1/2" x 11-1/2" cat litter bucket. She was so close to the edge that some chicks missed the nest when they fell off. That nest was close to 4' off the coop floor. Four different times I picked chicks up off of the coop floor and tossed them back in with Mama. Although they fell 4' they were not hurt. I did retire that nest after the hatch was over.

Unless your hen is sitting right on the edge of that nest I would not be concerned.

Thanks for the info my nest is about 12in by 12 in with a 3in timber on the front of it

 

[Ridgerunner]

Personally I'd just leave her alone and let her decide when to bring them off the nest, that nest should be OK. But others would remove them. There is no right way or wrong way to most of this stuff, just the way you decide to do it.

 

[Rocky09]

If at all possible, show a photo of the nesting box.
What was the box designed to do? Be multi purpose- breakfast eggs or hatch-ling production- or both. I let some of my broody girls sit on eggs in my breakfast house from time to time. They are rectangle milk crates high off the ground. But I remove the chicks when they hatch to the safety of an indoor brooder. I have lapsed in retrieval a couple of times and the boxes were so small that a couple chicks became trampled.

I made it for hens laying eggs this pullet only started layin a month ago but i like the idea of her being a mother here pic of nestbox

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Forgive me for asking this, but are your hens exposed to a Rooster?

 

[Rocky09]

Yes of course